


Of Painted Angels and Jail Cells

by DreamingAlone



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Graffiti, Jail, M/M, Vandalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-27 10:36:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5045029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamingAlone/pseuds/DreamingAlone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will Solace had been through many things in his life, but he'd never thought he'd be spending the night in a tiny jail cell with a painter-turned-part-time-vandal. But hey, life was full of surprises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Painted Angels and Jail Cells

_Evening shifts sucked._ Will sighed tiredly as he walked out of the hospital, shoving his hands in his pockets. He made his way down the pavement, silently grateful that he lived within walking distance of his job. He stifled a yawn as he recalled the events at the hospital that evening.

It was a slow day, a couple of kids with broken bones, young woman with a concussion, an old man who had a bad case of the flu. Will was glad though. Less patients meant less people getting hurt.

Will passed by an alley, but stopped when he heard a low rattling sound. He turned his head and listened carefully and sure enough, there it was again. This time the rattling was accompanied by a quiet hissing. Will backtracked and stopped at the mouth of the alley. In the dim light, he could just make out a dark figure with a can of spray paint in their hand.

Will watched as the person sprayed the wall with practiced ease. He walked closer, curious to see what exactly was being painted on the wall. He stopped just a few feet behind the graffiti artist and his jaw dropped.

The graffiti was stunning. It was a silhouette of a man. Wait, no, an angel. It was finely detailed; Will could see the outline of the man’s hair and the longing in his expression. The artist had only painted one wing so far, but it was spread open as if the man was about to take flight.

“Wow,” Will whispered.

The person painting dropped the can of paint as if it was made of fire. They whirled around and Will caught a glimpse of light skin and dark eyes. He saw that the person was, in fact, a man. Those eyes widened upon seeing Will and the man’s voice was barely audible, but Will heard him anyway. “ _Shit.”_

The man blinked and his eyes darted towards the end of the alley. His shoulders tensed and he suddenly pushed Will and ran.

“Wait!” Will regained his balance and dashed after him.

“You haven’t even finished yet!” he called. He reached out a hand and managed to grab the hood of the man’s jacket, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

“Wait,” Will repeated. “You haven’t even finished it.”

The man shrugged off Will’s hand and turned to face him, allowing Will to take a good look at the graffiti artist. He couldn’t help but notice that he was actually pretty good-looking, with his tousled black hair and bewildered expression. His pale skin made his dark eyes glow like coals under the dim streetlamp. “ _What_?”

“Your art. It isn’t complete yet,” Will said.

“I was making graffiti. Street art. Vandalism. That doesn’t bother you?”

Will shrugged. “Not really. It looked great, so how could something that looks nice be a bad thing?”

“You’re... serious?” he asked tentatively. “You think it looked nice?”

Will shook his head fervently. “More than nice. It was amazing.”

The man bit his lip, a hint of disbelief in his features. “Uh, thanks,” he mumbled uncertainly.

“You should really go back there and finish it, you know.”

The man's brow furrowed a little and he raised his arm to check his watch. “Well, I guess I've got a little time to kill.”

“I'm Will.”

“Nico.”

They made their way back to the alley and Nico picked up the can of spray paint he dropped, giving it a good shake. He hesitated for a moment and shot Will a look as if to say _are you sure about this?_ When Will nodded encouragingly, Nico took a deep breath and pressed the nozzle.

Will watched as he painted the rest of the wing, mesmerized at how carefully and delicately Nico angled the can so that it formed a feather. “It’s not really all that hard,” Nico said. “You just need to be able to control the wrist.”

“It’s amazing,” Will murmured in awe. “Are you an artist?”

“Eh, kinda,” Nico stopped for a moment to step back and admire his work. “I’m a painter.”

“That explains a lot.”

Will watched as Nico finished the wing and started on the other one, pausing every once in a while to explain the concept of the art and the different ways to use the can of paint. There was a certain artful purpose in the way Nico painted. The way he was so sure of where and what to paint next. He radiated a quiet sort of tranquility when he painted, which made Will feel comfortable and at ease.

“Hey, you hear that noise?” Nico asked suddenly as he painted the finishing touches on the angel and its wings.

“What noise?” Will asked distractedly, too focused on observing the artwork. (And not at all observing the elegant way Nico's hair fell over his eyes and the way he bit his lip in concentration and the small sounds that escaped his lips as he decided where to paint next.)

“It's getting louder,” Nico paused and cocked his head. “It almost sounds like...” His eyes widened. “A siren. _Shit._ ”

“Run?”

“Run.”

...

 _Michael was gonna kill him._ Will could already imagine his brother’s face, worried and irritated upon finding out that he’d been arrested for vandalism. All those years of being a respectful law-abiding citizen, down the drain just like that.

He took a deep breath and dialed a number. He cringed inwardly as he anticipated the yelling he’d get when the phone got picked up.

 _Hey, this is Michael._ Will perked up at the voice. _I’m not available at the moment, but please leave a message after the beep._

Will took a deep breath. “Hey Michael, it’s Will.”

He decided to get straight to the point. “I, uh, got arrested for vandalism and I kinda need you to come over to the police station and bail me out, man. Thanks.”

Will hung up and nodded over to Nico, who strode over and picked up the receiver. He punched a phone number into the callbox and waited, tapping his fingers impatiently on the box. “Come on, pick up,” he mumbled under his breath. After a few minutes he scowled at the receiver. “Damn it.”

He dialed a few more numbers, with the same results.

“No answer either?” Will asked.

“Nope,” Nico sighed as he slumped back in his bench. “Guess we’ll be here till morning.”

“So what do we do now?”

“Wait till morning. Duh.” Nico rolled his eyes.

Under the white light of the cell, Will could see his features more clearly, and, well. Nico was a lot more good-looking than he'd initially thought. His inky hair contrasted perfectly with his ivory skin, framing his face in a way that complemented his cheekbones. Will's heart started to beat a little faster. Nico's dark eyes still had that glowing sort of effect.

Will wondered if his eyes were always like that or if it was just an effect of the fluorescent lights.

He had the strong desire to find out.

Nico's careless expression and dark clothes made him look like a grade A delinquent and troublemaker. An effect, however, that was ruined by the small stripes of black paint that smudged his cheeks, making Nico look like he had cat whiskers. Will felt his chest clench a little because _God, if that wasn't adorable, he didn't know what was._

He was snapped out of his staring when Nico glared at him. “Quit staring.”

“What?”

“You. Staring. Knock it off.”

“You've, um, got a little paint on your cheek,” Will giggled slightly.

Nico flushed red and started rubbing furiously at his cheeks. Will had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing.

“Wanna play twenty questions?” Will smiled.

“No.”

“Who goes first?” Will acted as though he hadn’t heard Nico.

Silence.

“Okay then, I’ll go first,” Will decided. “How old are you?”

“Ninety-one,” Nico leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

“You sure know how to live on the wild side, Grandpa,” Will snorted.

Nico didn't reply.

Clearly this conversation wasn't going anywhere. Will sighed quietly to himself and started tapping his fingers absent-mindedly on his seat.

“I’m twenty-four.”

Will looked up and blinked. “What?”

“I'm twenty-four,” Nico repeated. He was looking down on the floor with his hands in his pockets, a half-hearted scowl on his face. Will found it adorable.

“I'm twenty-five. I guess it's your turn then,” Will said.

Nico pondered for a moment or two. “Got any siblings?”

“I've got two older brothers, Lee and Michael. And a younger sister named Kayla,” Will rested his chin in his hand. “What's your favourite colour?”

“Black,” Nico answered without hesitation. He crossed his legs and straightened his back, resting his hands on his ankles. “What do you work as?”

“I'm a surgeon at Adromeda Hospital.”

“That big private hospital nearby?”

“That's the one,” Will nodded.

“Wow. A doctor.”

“It's kind of runs in the family,” Will shrugged. “My parents are doctors, and so are my brothers. It just sorta seemed natural to take the same route. Even Kayla's in medical school, studying to be a pediatrician.”

Nico stared at him, not saying anything. After a long pause, he leaned back and whistled. “I got a surgeon arrested for vandalism. Not bad, di Angelo.”

Will crossed his arms. “My profession has got nothing to do with why I was arrested. I didn't even vandalise anything!”

“Yeah, you're right,” Nico agreed. “You probably wouldn't have the guts to break the law, anyway. Not to mention how you'd probably have shit art skills too.”

“ _Excuse me?”_

“I mean, come on, you're just a doctor. You science people have no creativity at all. You're literally _brainwashed_ to follow everything by the book.”

“Okay, first of all, rude. We science people are just as creative as you art geeks.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”

“And second of all, di Angelo, I'll have you know that I won first place in the art fair back in middle school.”

“Wow. A middle school art fair. How fascinating. Do tell me more, Solace.”

“I've got plenty of art skills,” Will huffed.

“Bet you can't draw a perfect circle.”

“ _Everyone_ can draw a perfect circle, Nico,” Will rolled his eyes. “That's why we have compasses.”

“I'm talking about free hand circles.”

“Wait, that's actually _real_?” Will stared.

Nico burst into laughter. Will kept staring. Nico's laugh was mesmerising. It was sudden and musical, with just the lilt of an accent. Nico wrapped an arm around his stomach and covered his eyes with his other hand, his body shaking as he kept laughing.

“Okay, your turn,” he wheezed.

“I'm still offended.”

“Shut up and ask me something,” Nico smiled slightly.

“Is this the first time you've been arrested?”

“Nah, I've been arrested once or twice before. I always had Bianca bail me out pretty quick though,” Nico frowned.

“Vandalism?”

“You know it,” he nodded with a grin. “So, got any hobbies?”

“Jogging, reading. Occasionally surfing.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Didn't take you for the sporty type.”

“You know, if you get to know me, you'll find out I'm just full of surprises,” Will winked.

Nico blushed slightly. “Your turn,” he mumbled.

Will looked at Nico and tilted his head slightly. “If you're a painter, why were you painting graffiti on an alley wall? Shouldn't you, I don't know, be painting on canvases or something instead?”

He immediately regretted his question when he saw Nico's expression turn dark. Nico pursed his lips and leaned forward on his bench, studying the uneven cement floor.

“Because I'm not a good artist. I can't paint. I can't create art.” Nico's voice was so quiet, Will had to strain his ears to hear him.

“That's why I paint at night, on walls of buildings. I do it in the dark so that no one would see, and it's anonymous, so no one would know that it's me. That way I won't have to deal with people not liking what I do.”

“Nico-”

“I don't think you'd really understand, Will. You're a doctor. Everyone likes what you do, and they appreciate it. You're saving lives. As an artist, I pour my heart and soul into what I make, and not everyone agrees that it's good, or even something worthwhile. I just... I don't think I can handle that kind of rejection very well.” Nico's face was pale, his hands gripping the side of the bench so tightly, his knuckles turned white.

Will got up and sat down beside Nico.

“Nico,” he began gently. “Everyone fears rejection, and it's not something you can run away from. It's a part of life. But the thing is, you don't know for sure if everyone will hate what you do.”

Nico opened his mouth to say something, but Will continued.

“You need to keep in mind that just like how rejection exists, acceptance and admiration are two real things as well. Anything can happen, and art is very subjective. Your art is amazing, and I think you have a lot more talent than you think.”

Nico looked up, his eyes full of doubt. “...You really think so?” he asked carefully.

Will nodded encouragingly. “I know so.”

Nico sat still for several long moments, before tentatively reaching out a hand for Will's. As he intertwined their fingers together, he offered a small smile. “Thank you.”

Will hummed in response. They sat there in a comfortable silence until Will spoke up. “Hey, wait a minute. If no one ever sees you make street art, does that mean I'm the first one to find out?”

“Yeah, actually. I guess you are,” Nico answered.

“That makes me the first person to like and appreciate what you do?”

“I suppose so.”

“So,” Will grinned. “That makes me your number one fan?”

“No. Shut up.”

“Don't be rude to your number one fan.”

Nico groaned and gave him a shove. “You're my _only_ fan, Solace!”

Will Solace had been through many things in his life, but he'd never thought he'd be spending the night in a tiny jail cell with a painter-turned-part-time-vandal. But hey, life was full of surprises.

The next morning, they get released and Will can't remember the last time he'd been so relieved. He swears to himself that he'd never get arrested again. The cell was uncomfortable and tiny, and he hated every single moment of it.

He glanced at the pale young man beside him, with the messy black hair and dark captivating eyes. _Okay, maybe not_ every _single moment._

He and Nico walked out of the police station and stopped a few yards away on the pavement.

“So,” Will started, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his heels. “We survived a night in jail.”

“Yeah, we did,” Nico nodded. “That wasn't actually all that bad.”

“It was actually pretty fun.”

“Yeah,” Nico smiled quietly. “It was.”

“I guess I'll see you around...” Will trailed off reluctantly.

“Um, yeah. See you around.” Nico bit his lip. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again, as if he changed his mind.

Will turned around and started walking home when he heard Nico call his name.

“Will!” Nico jogged up to him. “...Same time next week?” His expression was a little shy, a little hopeful, and a little too endearing for Will's heart.

“Wouldn't miss it for the world.”

Needless to say, they got arrested the following week as well. Totally worth it though.

**Author's Note:**

> I promised myself I'd finish this ages ago. But anyway, enjoy! :)


End file.
